Best Years Of Our Lives
by DistantCompany
Summary: HIEIxBOTAN- Hiei, being an outcast at highschool, only has his sister, best friend, and girlfriend. Then his girlfriend cheats on him with his best friend and he's left hurt and angry. Can the new girl pull him thourgh hell, known as high school?
1. Tranquil Mornings

**READ THIS: **Hey, I'm back with another Hiei and Botan fic. I know you all love them. Fear not, though. Unlike my other Hiei/Botan fics, this one isn't a one shot. It has chapters. I know, you can't wait. Well, neither can I. I'll give the summary and we can start the fic.

**SUMMARY:** At age 16, skilled guitarist and punk, Hiei Jaganshi, is an outcast with no friends at his school, Surota High. He does have his sister(Yukina), his best friend(Kurama), and his girlfriend(Mukuro). (I know, I know. I said Hiei and Botan, but Mukuro plays an important role. Botan gets Hiei, believe me.) But when his girlfriend cheats on him with his best friend and the two start going out, Hiei is left angry, alone, and hurt. Can the the new girl(Botan) warm her way into his heart? Or will he become cold and isolated, another victim of high school torture and cruel classmates? They say these are the best years of our lives. Somehow, I highly doubt that.

**DISCLAIMER:** [insert clever disclaimer here]

**A/N:** Everybody is basically 16. Everybody's from YYH. I add twists to everyone's pasts and crap, making excuses for why they don't have family or have a certain deformity so it makes sense in the real high school drama world. This is an alternitive universe. If you don't know what that is......deal with it.

Ok, I'm done. On with the friggin fic.

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_It was a lovely Monday morning as the world began to wake up…………………_

**BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!**

An annoyed pair of crimson eyes flickered open at the sound of the alarm clock. A pissed groan came from under the sheets of the bed as a hand emerged from beneath the black comforter. With sluggish movement, the hand tapped the snooze button on the clock and the room was immediately silent. With another slow movement, the hand disappeared beneath the comforter as the owner of the hand resumed slumbering. Just as they were about to drift back off to sleep…………

**SLAM!** "Hiei, wake up! You're gonna be late!" yelled a drowsy Yukina as she slammed open the door and charged into the room. Grabbing a pillow from the floor, she began beating the lump on the bed that was Hiei mercilessly. "We're going to be late! Get up!" She paused momentarily to see if Hiei would rise.

When she got no response, she continued beating Hiei with the pillow again, faster and harder then before. Yukina began losing hope that she would ever get her brother up. He was usually alert during the day, but he could sleep like a rock.

"Grr…….Alright already! I'll get up!" called a muffled voice from beneath the black comforter. Yukina just grinned triumphantly as she walked out of the door, tossing the pillow over her shoulder on the way out. It landed on the floor, where it originally was.

The covers of the bed shifted noisily as Hiei tried to find a way out from underneath them. Throwing the covers off the bed, he sat up, rubbing his tired eyes in the process. He raised his arm to stifle a huge yawn, causing the sleeve of his black tank top to slip down off his shoulder. He scratched his head, tousling his black, white, and blue hair. Opening his eyes again, he gazed wearily around his room. This is Hiei Jaganshi, age 16, and this is the story of his life.

Hiei continued to look around his room, gazing at all the band posters taped onto his black walls. His eyes came to rest on one particular poster. The granddaddy of all bands, Metallica. He loved them. The way their songs were so dark and tormented, practically praising the devil. The volume the songs had to be played. Loud. The way the lead singer's voice was gravelly. **[1]**

He smiled to himself and let his eyes fall to the corner of his room, straight to his air guitar. It was hot red and slick. He dreamed of starting a band, playing loud punk rock music in front of huge crowds of fans. Of course, that was only a dream, because he didn't have many friends. Even if he did, it wouldn't matter. No one around town played instruments; therefore, he couldn't start a rock band.

With a sigh, he stretched his arms and let his legs hang over the edge of the bed. His bare feet touched the cold wooden floor of his room as he pulled himself out of bed and stood up. He stumbled slightly over to his full size mirror and looked at himself.

His reflection showed the same thing it did yesterday morning. He still stood at 4'10. Of course, no one knew that was his real size, because his hair made him seem slightly taller.

He looked at his hair with interest. No matter how he slept on it, it always stuck up in the same way every morning. He had messy hair, he had learned that from an early age, and he liked the fact that it spiked out wildly. He had been born with a white starburst springing out from his pitch black hair near his bangs. He liked the color combination, and when he was 13 he had dyed the tips of his hair blue, excluding his bangs. He like the way his hair looked, unique.

His glared at his reflection and his crimson eyes glared back at him. They were emotionless and shadowed from his bangs. He smirked; having a death glare was one of the ups in life. He looked down at his black tank top and black boxers that he had worn to bed. He still had to change for school.

With an annoyed grunt, Hiei shuffled over to his dresser and pulled open a drawer. Grabbing a pair of worn jeans, he pulled them on and yanked off his tank top, throwing it onto his bed. He searched around for a clean shirt and found a black T-shirt. Throwing it on, he pulled on a pair of socks and reached for his shoes. "Huh?" he asked when he couldn't find them. He looked all around his room, in his closet, under his bed, but he couldn't find them anywhere.

With a frustrated sigh, he opened his door and screamed out into the hallway. "Yukina! Have you seen my-" **THUMP! THUMP!** Hiei sweatdropped as his sneakers hit the wall next to his door. "-shoes………" he finished weakly, snatching up his sneakers and pulling them on his feet.

Last but not least, he dug into his drawer for his white bandana. He pulled it out and quickly tied it around his forehead.

With that done, he jumped up and ran to the bathroom and got done what needed to be done. He finished and grabbed his backpack off of his desk chair. Checking his alarm clock, he saw he had ten minutes until he had to start walking to school. He smirked. He had made good time.

Walking down the stairs, Hiei dropped his backpack off by the door and strolled into the kitchen. He stopped in the doorway and stared when he saw his twin. Yukina was sitting at the small kitchen table, leaning over a newspaper she was engrossed in. Every now and then she took a bite of a bagel. This wasn't the reason Hiei was staring, though.

Yukina was wearing a white cotton button-up blouse. She wore a plaid skirt that went a good way above her knees. She had white socks that went up to her knees and wore black boots that didn't go past her ankles. She had her sea green hair in pigtails, tied with two red bows. Realizing her brother was staring; she stopped reading and looked at him. "What?"

Letting out a snort, Hiei shook his head and leaned against the doorway. He didn't say anything and Yukina ignored him and went back to reading. After a few moments of silence, Hiei casually responded to his sister. "Yukina, the school doesn't have uniforms, so why are you dressing like a schoolgirl?"

Yukina stopped reading her paper and glared poison at her brother. "Shut up, Hiei!" she snapped, throwing a bagel at his head. Hiei caught the bagel before it could touch him and took a bite out of it, all the while chuckling to him self.

He leaned against the counter, chewing his bagel, while Yukina continued reading at the table. "Are you buying lunch today?" she asked, not looking up from the paper.

Hiei snorted. Like he would be caught dead bringing lunch from home. "Yeah."

Yukina didn't say anything as she folded up the newspaper and tossed it onto another chair. She took a piece of paper and a pencil out of her backpack and began jotting something down. Hiei raised and eyebrow as he got a soda from the fridge and began chugging it down. "What are you doing?" he asked between gulps.

"I'm writing down a few final notes before that big math test that Dr. Ichigaki's giving today," Yukina responded as she continued practicing algebra problems with skill.

Hiei began choking on his soda and started coughing violently. Yukina froze when she heard her brother coughing. She placed her pencil down on the table softly and turned around very slowly to face Hiei. He was blinking furiously and breathing heavily. "Hiei, tell me you studied for today's math test."

"There's a math test today?!" he exclaimed frantically, staring at his sister in stupor.

Yukina gaped at her brother like she couldn't believe what she was hearing. "What do you mean, 'there's a math test today?!'" she blared, mock mimicking her brother. "Dr. Ichigaki told us a week ago that we're having a big math test today! Do you even listen to him?!"

Hiei gave a weak laugh. "…….No……"

Yukina slapped her hand on her forehead. "You are so screwed."

"Yukina!" he yelped, grabbing his twin by the shoulders and shaking her roughly. "You have to help me!"

Yukina looked at her brother and knew he couldn't pass this test. "I took notes for the test, so I can study off those. You can borrow my textbook. Study chapter 3." She handed her math textbook to Hiei and frowned. 'He never studies. He's gonna fail,' she thought sadly.

Hiei was about to open the math book when he remembered the time. He looked at the clock and saw that it was 7:45. School started in fifteen minutes. 'I'm so screwed!' he thought.

Yukina, too, looked at the clock and saw that it was time to go. "Come on, we better start walking. We're supposed to meet Kurama and Mukuro on the way to school." Hiei nodded and ran to the door, grabbing his backpack from the floor and slinging it over his shoulder. Yukina came out of the kitchen with her backpack and they both walked out the front door.

Hiei started off to the sidewalk while Yukina locked the door behind her. She caught up with him and they started off down the sidewalk until………

"Wait! I forgot my lunch money!"

"Hiei!"

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Yukina and Hiei were finally on there way to school after going back to the house 3 times. 2 trips for Hiei and one for Yukina. Anyway, they continued down to school. They stopped in front of Kurama's house, only to find there was no Kurama waiting outside.

Hiei looked around blankly for his best friend. "Where's Kurama?"

Looking around, Yukina shrugged. "You took so long; maybe he left with out us."

Kurama had been Hiei's one and only friend since the third grade when Kurama had moved to town. Everybody in the third grade had at least one friend except Hiei. He was an outcast and he didn't like making friends in the first place. When Kurama had arrived, he hadn't had any friends yet either, and the two of them hit it off.

Actually, during a fieldtrip, Kurama was making his way to the bus and Hiei had tripped him. Needless to say, the two of them had gotten into a fight and had detention together. They had glared at each other until Kurama had broken into laughter, and Hiei had joined him. They were kind of inseparable after that. They did everything together.

Hiei wasn't even really sure why Kurama hung out with him. He was an outcast, had bad grades, antisocial, an aloof bully to most. Picked on by the rest. And Kurama was popular, could charm anyone, was a genius, and was almost every girl's crush. No body messed with Kurama. He was ok with basically everyone. Hiei didn't usually dwell on this, but lately, something had been bothering him.

He was about to start walking off to school, thinking that Kurama had left already, when he heard the door to Kurama's house creak open. Yukina and he stared as Kurama fumbled with his keys, trying to quickly lock up his house. He looked a wreck, his red hair was messy and his jacket was on crooked. He finally succeeded in locking his house and turned on his heel to start walking to school. He stopped and stared in surprise when he saw the Koorime twins standing on the sidewalk, staring back at him.

Scratching the back of his head, Kurama gave a light laugh and his green eyes shined. "Gee Hiei, I had slept in. I didn't think you'd be out here." He jogged down the walkway and met his friend at the sidewalk.

"Yeah, well, I had some problems myself this morning," Hiei explained, looking down at the math book that was in his hands. "…………..Did you know about the math test?"

Kurama nodded as the trio continued on their way to school. "Yeah, Dr. Ichigaki told us about it a week ago." Hiei sweatdropped and Yukina glared daggers at her brother. Kurama saw what was unfolding and chuckled to himself. "Hiei, did you not study for this test either?"

"Hn," Hiei replied, beginning to read chapter 3 in the textbook. Kurama laughed at his friends antics. This happened every time a test came around.

"Do you think Mukuro left already?" Yukina asked as they neared the street corner where Mukuro usually waited for them. She looked up and down the street but saw no sign of her. "I guess so………."

Hiei took his nose out of the book briefly to look up and down the street as well. He frowned, slightly put off and gave a small sigh.

Kurama smirked. "Seems like your girlfriend left."

Hiei shrugged and continued walking, the damper in his mood apparent. Yukina and Kurama followed him when a voice suddenly rang out.

"Hiei! Wait up, I didn't leave!"

Hiei stopped walking and turned to see his girlfriend in the distance running at him. She was wearing a pair of green capris and a purple tank top. Most of her orange hair was layered on the right side of her head, hanging in front of her face. The piece of cloth that covered the scars on the left side of her face fluttered in the wind as she continued to run. It was held in place by the green bandana that she always wore. The glass lens she wore in front of her left eye over the cloth glinted in the sun as she grew closer. She finally made it to the three of them and stopped to catch her breathe.

"Hey Mukuro," Yukina greeted, smiling at her brother's girlfriend. Mukuro gave a wave of greeting and wiped a bead of sweat off her face.

She smiled at her friends and gave a long sigh of exhaustion. "Yukina. Kurama." she acknowledged kindly. She looked at Hiei, who had resumed his rushed studying and she began laughing. "Hiei, don't tell me you didn't study for Dr. Ichigaki's math test."

Yukina glanced in surprise at Mukuro and glared at her brother again. "Hear that, Hiei? Mukuro knew about the test."

"Hn," Hiei grunted, ignoring his sister's nagging.

Mukuro's blue eyes (uh…eye) sparkled as she laughed at him and bent so she was face to face with him. "You've got to fix that studying problem of yours," she said as she leaned in and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. She pulled back and looked at him as a pink blush crept along his face, which only caused her to laugh more.

Kurama's chuckles joined hers and she looked at him and gave a wide grin. He grinned back and they both started walking, following Yukina who had already continued on her way to school again. Hiei tagged behind the three, looking at the endless math problems he had to memorize. 'This is gonna kill me,' he thought exasperatedly.

He stopped study and began thinking about Mukuro. Yeah, they were going out. He liked her, he really did. And she liked him. They had met in the fourth grade and had gotten along, and then one day Hiei got up the courage to ask her out. Relief was an overwhelming thing for him when she said yes.

Normally, Hiei didn't take a liking to girls. He wasn't gay or anything, he just didn't like the air headed bimbos that most of the female population of his school was made out of. Mukuro was different, though. She was more laid back and didn't like cheerleading, thank god. She had scars on her face and her entire left side was bionic thanks to a freak accident when she was a child, but he didn't care. He liked her for who she was. It was just a plus that she didn't wear preppy clothing and makeup.

Hiei found it fortunate that his girlfriend, his sister, and his only friend got along with each other just fine. It wouldn't have been so bad if Yukina hadn't gotten along with Mukuro, but Kurama? Forget about it. The three did everything together, and if Mukuro and Kurama didn't get along, major destruction would've ensued. But they did get along, very well really, so Hiei was thankful for that.

He was about to go back to studying when he realized his friends had stopped. "What's up?"

Kurama turned and laughed at the oblivious look on his friends face. "We're at school, Hiei. Can you imagine that?"

Hiei looked over Kurama's shoulder and saw Surota High in all its 'glory'. He hated this place.

"Ready for another hell bound day?" Mukuro asked, stepping next to Hiei.

He smirked. "Bring it on."

And with that, the four stepped into Surota High, preparing themselves for another day of school.

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Yes, I know. No Botan yet. No Botan for a chapter or two. But admit it. You love my work. That's why you're reading my story. Be patient and great Hiei and Botan stuff will come...............Think I'm too full of myself?

_**A/N:**  
_**[1]**- Hiei was going to have the dream of starting a band no matter what. I chose Metallica, because the creator of YYH, Yoshihiro Togashi's favorite band is Metallica. If you've ever watched the episodes of YYH when Kuwabara fights Seaman, you'll see that Togashi had Kuwabara go to a concert of Megallica's with a G instead of a T. Clever way not to copywrite, no?

And to set the record straight, Hiei's last name is not Jaganshi in real life. It's his title. Jaganshi means weilder of the evil eye, or Jagan. Hiei and Yukina both don't have a last name. Just for this story, their 'last name' is Jaganshi. I'm glad I cleared that up. People who like to write essays that rant about people who get YYH info wrong would come after me if I didn't.

Ok, that's it until next time so...........**REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! **And........we're done.


	2. A Day In The Life

**READ: **Hey, I had no idea how much you all loved Botan. Guess what? I do too! I feel jittery, this isn't good. This is what not updating in a while will do to you. Sorry for the long delay. Lots of different stories I'm working on. And they aren't even posted yet! Urgh! I'm so screwed.

Anyway, I would like to take this moment to tell you all that within the next week or so, I'll be posting a one shot called Botan's Sorrow. It's already halfway done. It's, like I said, a one shot angst, Hiei/Botan piece. I mean, REAL angst. Not happily ever after, though it is pretty damn good in my opinion. Even if you're a fluff kind of person, you might like it. You never know.............

You know, I need to respond to some of my reviewers. How.....exciting?

**RESPONSE TO REVIEWS:**

**Distant Voice**- Yeah, I'm glad you're hooked. I'm hooked on this story too..........wait. Yes, you're right. A lot of people have to deal with these problems. Funny thing, I usually start these problems...........eh, heh, heh, heh. Botan is going to pop up soon. Aren't you excited? Well, aren't you?! And if I get ungrateful complaints, I'll.................I'll think of something.

**Anubis-** You didn't review this story, but you did review Vampire Kisses. Like you requested, I promise to send you an e- mail letting you know a new chapter is up the second I get this posted.

**Disclaimer:** [insert clever disclaimer here]

Read now. I'm going to kidnap Hiei and Botan and make them do..........stuff. Heh, heh, heh.

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"Did I neglect to mention how much I hate this school?" Hiei asked Kurama as they walked down the hallway that led to the locker rooms. They had separated from Mukuro and Yukina after they had entered the building and were now heading towards their first period class. Gym.

Kurama sighed, shaking his head at Hiei's grumpy as usual mood. "Only every time we walk down this hallway. Which makes me wonder, do you hate gym?"

Hiei glared at his friend's sarcastic tone. "Shut up," he growled, tugging open a door and walking into the boys locker room.

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**A/N:** Ok, you know what? I just reread what I wrote and I find this to be total crap. I really feel guilty, though, and feel that I owe readers another chapter, so I'm just gonna take a break. I'm going to write my other story for a bit, and hopefully, I can think of a less crappy beginning. --;

**------------------**

Ok, I'm back. I think I've got a better idea to start this chapter. Yes, a much better idea…….Maybe……..

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**-MONDAY-**

Surota High is like every other normal high school in the world. Boring classes, bitchy teachers, and cruel peers. Ah yes, everyone knows what it's like. It's nothing compared to elementary school. Back then, almost everybody got along and were friends. It's not like that in high school. No, even the closest friendships aren't safe, and pretty soon, friendship becomes hate. People slowly forget about each other and go their separate ways. They form cliches in the dog eat dog world known as the social population. The years of play dates and birthday parties are over. Now the most important thing is being the most sociable person, the most popular. And if you're not, you strive for that perfection to be the best and most acknowledge in school. Of course, if you're not one of those people, you shift to your own smaller group of friends and ignore everyone else. It gets you by and you're happier that way. Not having to have to deal with everybody judging every move you make. And then there's the other kind of breaking off of friends. The person who's just an outcast in general. Who has one to no friends. The person who's always alone, and if there was one person most likely to commit suicide or turn out a killer, it's that person. Yes, adults say that these are the best years of our lives, but do they even really know. If anything, they're clueless. They really wouldn't know, cause for over half of their adolescent years, they were getting high. Makes you think that they were just trying to block out being a teenager themselves.

Back to Surota high, all the students were scattered about the school grounds, inside and outside the building. Some rushing to get to their class before the bell rings, others socializing about who has the cutest pumps. Some showing off and posing for the ladies, and some sitting around in small groups, trying to avoid conflict with the more popular and crueler groups. And of course, there were the loners. Those who traveled the school halls alone. Yes, that thin group consisted of the loners, the bullies, and, of course, the outcasts. Typical school day for everyone.

Hiei mused about this as he stared out of the classroom window. After entering the building, Mukuro ran off to music class, leaving Yukina, Hiei, and Kurama alone. The three had slipped into an empty classroom to wait until the bell rang. He was supposed to be studying for math, but, like always, his mind began to wander, and once that happened, there was nothing stopping him.

"Hiei! I gave you that math book to study! Stop looking out the window like an idiot and read it!"

Almost nothing stopping him.

Hiei turned his head to his face his sister, who was glaring poison at him. He glared back. Yes, glares were famous with the Koorime twins. "Hn," he said, turning his head and staring back out the window.

Yukina glared harder at her brother's turned back. "Hiei, I can take back my textbook! I need it too, you know!"

Hiei rolled his eyes at his sister. "Yukina, piss off. Why do you have to be such a goody-two shoes all the time?"

Kurama sweatdropped and backed away from the two. He knew what was about to go down and didn't feel like getting involved. He was still sore from last time.

"Why do you have to be an irresponsible idiot?!"

"The same reason you're a teacher's pet.

"Oh? And I suppose failing all your tests and being called stupid is appealing to you?!"

"I'm not stupid!"

"Right, Hiei! Right! How can you be stupid when you manage to forget your key and get locked out of the house for five hours?! In the pouring rain!

"That was a long time ago! And last time I remembered, you were the one who got locked out of the house last week!"

"Because _you_ locked me out!"

"Same thing!"

"No it's not, you jerk."

"Sniveling brat!"

"Death child!"

"School girl!"

"Dunce!"

"Naïve twit!"

"Shorty!"

"How can you call me short?! We're the same height!"

"Yeah, but it's normal for girls to be short. Ha! What's your excuse?! You're a guy!"

"You have a teddy bear!"

"You suck your thumb!"

"Shut up! Heh, why don't you go make out with half the football team again…?"

"That was an accident and I was drunk!"

"I don't know sis. You looked pretty sober to me……"

"That's it!"

"What's it- ACK! Kurama, help! She bites!"

Kurama winced as Yukina started pulling Hiei's hair and biting his arm. "Sorry Hiei. You're on your own. I still have scratches from the last time I tried to help." Kurama winced again and averted his vision from the two when Hiei got a swift kick in the shin.

About seven minutes later, the twin's fighting dispersed, and after smoothing out her skirt, Yukina took a seat at a desk, smiling triumphantly. Hiei wobbled back to his seat by the window with a few dozen scratches and bite marks on his arms. He plopped down into the chair and looked at his reflection in the window. His hair was tousled and he ran his hands through it to try and get it back to how it was earlier.

"I hate you," Hiei hissed, glaring at his sister. Yukina didn't say anything, just stuck out her tongue in mock. Hiei jerked his head around and faced his best friend when he heard Kurama heave a sigh of relief. "What are you sighing for?! You didn't even help me!"

Kurama eyed the scratches on Hiei's arms warily. "Can you blame me?"

Hiei turned away from his friend. "Hn." He stared out the window in frustration. He hated when his sister got rabid. He was just glad that only Kurama had seen Yukina attack him. He didn't feel like putting up with the rest of the school ridiculing him for being hurt by his sister. His oh so 'sweet and innocent' sister. He snorted to himself. That was all just a clever act. Only he really knew how she acted. After all, he lived with her. But she wasn't so bad, just occasionally temperamental.

Flipping through the math textbook, Hiei was about to go over chapter 3 when he heard a muffled buzzing coming from the loudspeaker. Just great, morning announcements were about to start and after that the bell was bound to ring. It always did. So much for studying. Yep, he was screwed.

**BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!** "_Good morning students. I hope that none of you are running late and aren't able to hear this announcement, because it is, indeed, important,_" came Mr. Sensui, the principal's, voice through the speaker that was mounted in the corner of the classroom.

"What an asshole," Hiei commented, glaring at the speaker.

"_There are two major announcements that need to be addressed. First off, about the dance this Friday. If you plan on going, you're going to need 10$ to buy tickets at the door. You can buy tickets to the dance for half price in my office on Wednesday afternoon, if you feel like being prepared……Or if you're cheap."_

Yukina got a dreamy look in her eyes and propped herself up on the desk. "The dances are always so great. All the couples always go and have so much fun……."

Hiei rolled his eyes at his glazed over sister. Typical Yukina for you. One second gnawing on her brother's arm, the next second getting stars in her eyes as she dreamed about dances. Hiei's head snapped back to the speaker again as Mr. Sensui continued.

"_As for the second announcement, I'm happy to declare that Surota High will be welcoming a new student. They will be starting their first day this Wednesday. That is all." _**BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!**

A long moment of silence ensued before Yukina asked the question that they were all thinking. "We're……getting a new……student?"

Hiei let out a bitter laugh as he stood up and slipped the math book into his bag. "Give it a week and the school will rip them apart." He swung his bag over his shoulder and leaned on the desk his best friend was sitting at. "Of course, Kurama didn't have that problem when he was the new kid. He's was the class crush. In fact, he still is."

Grimacing from past memories, Kurama slapped his forehead and let out a laugh. "God, I get enough crap from the girls, Hiei. I don't need any from you."

Ignoring Kurama's protest, Hiei continued his antics, not wanting to pass up an opportunity to embarrass his friend. Putting on his best high pitch, female voice, he began talking a mile a minute. "Oh, that Kurama's so good looking. Did you see him in art class? He looked so hot cleaning out the paintbrushes. Oh my god, I think he just looked at me!"

Turning slightly pink, Kurama playfully punched Hiei in the arm. "Shut up, that's not funny," he said sternly, but he couldn't hold his straight face any longer and burst out laughing, Hiei following him soon after.

"You guys are such idiots," Yukina said, rolling her eyes, despite the amused smile on her face. The two stopped laughing immediately and stared at her. At the same time, they looked back at each other and cracked up again.

After the laughter had died down, all three were standing near the door, waiting for the bell to ring. "So Hiei, are you gonna ask Mukuro to the dance?" Yukina asked slyly, innocently looking away when her brother glared at her.

"No."

Yukina stared at her brother. "But….she's your girlfriend!"

Hiei sighed in annoyance at his sister's oblivious attitude. "No, that's not what I mean. It doesn't matter if I ask her to the dance or not, because one way or another, she'll end up dragging me there."

"Yeah, I guess Mukuro would manage to get you to go," Yukina confessed, shrugging her shoulders. "Hey Kurama, are you gonna take someone to the dance?"

Both Koorime twins grew silent and looked at Kurama. They were both shocked to find there friend scowling at Hiei. It was a shock, because for one thing, Kurama hardly ever glared, let alone scowled, and for another, he was scowling at Hiei, his best friend. "Eh, Kurama? You ok?" Hiei asked, cocking an eyebrow at his friend's peculiar behavior.

Kurama's scowl disappeared instantly and was replaced by a nervous and slightly ashamed look. He blinked a few times at Hiei and took a deep breath. "I'm fine. Sorry, I was deep in thought about something and got carried away. You had asked me something, Yukina?"

Yukina broke out into a slightly devilish smile and repeated herself. "Yeah, are you taking anyone to the dance?" She waited for Kurama to turn bright red and face fault.

That didn't happen, though. Instead, he let out a smirk and looked at the ceiling, suddenly finding it very interesting. "Heh, maybe….." he said slowly, drawing out the suspense.

Eyes nearly bugging out of his head, Hiei let out a loud laugh. "You're kidding? You really have a date for the dance?"

Kurama's eyes glinted in amusement at his friend's disbelief. He raised his hand and began inspecting a fingernail. "Maybe I do, and maybe I don't. That's for me to know and you to find out."

Hiei rolled his eyes at Kurama's little game. He knew only too well that he would never get his friend to talk. That was the thing about Kurama; he wouldn't talk if he didn't want to. Dismissing the subject altogether, Hiei started walking out of the classroom.

Yukina gave her brother's turned back a questioning look. "Hiei, what are you doing? School hasn't started yet."

"Yeah, but it's about to," Hiei said, not even turning around to face his sister. As if to further his point, the bell decided to go off at that very moment.

**RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!**

Before Yukina or Kurama could say another thing, Hiei was already out the door and halfway down the hall, heading to his first class of the day, gym. The two stood there looking out the open door. "…………How'd he know the bell was gonna ring?" Yukina asked, a completely lost look on her face.

"…………..I don't know………." replied Kurama, who also had an equally lost look. "He headed off to gym class, right?"

"Yeah," Yukina answered, still staring at the door. Very slowly, the two turned to each other, each giving the other confused and disturbed looks. "…………….Wait a second! _We_ have gym class now!"

And with that, Yukina and Kurama shot out of the classroom, shoving into people in the hallway as they tried to catch up with Hiei.

**------------In the boys locker room (after gym class)------------**

"I hate gym class!" Hiei spat with distaste as he pulled his black T-shirt over his head and snatched his gym uniform up from the floor. Ah yes, his gym uniform. He hated it with a passion. Grant that the school didn't have school uniforms, they did have gym uniforms. It wouldn't have been so bad if they weren't so ugly. But they were. White T-shirts and blue shorts. They weren't short shorts, but Hiei still despised them. He just didn't like wearing shorts. What honest to god straight guy did?

Wiping a bead of sweat off his forehead, he shoved his uniform into his locker and slammed it shut. Leaning against it, he turned his impatient gaze to his friend. "Kurama, are you done yet?! I want to get out of here before my next class!"

Kurama, who was in the process of pulling his shirt over his head, stopped what he was doing and glared slightly at Hiei. "You're just pissed at everyone today, aren't you? Gym class wasn't that bad."

Hiei let out a short, mocking laugh. "Easy for you to say. You didn't have to put up with Coach Toguro." He let out a huge sigh and slumped against the lockers. He closed his eyes and, with resent, remembered his experiences earlier……

_"Hey guys!" Yukina called as she ran over to Kurama and Hiei, who had both just stepped into the gym. Together, the three walked to the bleachers, where Yukina and Kurama sat. Hiei decided to stand._

_Hiei was listening to Kurama and Yukina as they began having a conversation about science, when his ears picked up a loud, high pitch, annoying giggle. He turned his head to the side to see that it belonged to none other then Keiko Yukimora, the head cheerleader of the cheering squad. She was giggling furiously with a small group of girls who were also on the squad. Hiei looked all the way behind him and found the reason for there giggling. Yusuke Urameshi, one of the head jocks and Keiko's boyfriend, was strutting around like he was hot stuff, showing off for his girlfriend. Hiei hated them both._

_As Hiei looked on, a devilish idea came to his mind and an evil smirk spread across his face. He waited patiently for Yusuke to walk near him and when he did, Hiei stuck his foot out ever so slightly......._

_**BAM!** "Like, oh my god! Yusuke, are you alright?!" Keiko screeched, running over to Yusuke, who was now sprawled on the floor. Yukina and Kurama, who had stopped talking and began watching Hiei, burst out laughing as Urameshi scraped himself off the floor. Hiei held in his laughter as he glared at the jock, a small smirk playing across his face._

_Yusuke got to his feet and grabbed Hiei by the collar of his shirt, pulling him close so the two were face to face. "You're gonna pay for that, Jaganshi," Yusuke hissed, shaking a fist in Hiei's face._

_The smirk on Hiei's face immediately disappeared. He glared coldly and didn't even flinch when Yusuke's fist shook right in his face. "I'd like to see you try," he replied coolly, his eyes never leaving Yusuke's. _

_Gritting his teeth, Yusuke tightened his grip on Hiei's shirt and swung his fist back. "You asked for it, Jaganshi!" Hiei, too, swung his fist back, but just as the two boys were about to knock each other out, the shrill call of a whistle stopped them both mid blow. _

_They both turned their heads to the direction of the whistle and saw Coach Toguro approaching them. Yusuke instantly dropped Hiei and the two boys stood there, unable to avoid trouble. _

_Coach Toguro stopped a few feet in front of both boys and crossed his arms over his chest, the muscles in his arms rippling as he did so. He face was stone cold as he glared at the two over his black sunglasses. "What's this Urameshi? Jaganshi? A fight?"_

_Neither Hiei nor Yusuke said anything, but both were silent for different reasons. Yusuke was quiet because he was 100% sure that he wasn't going to get in trouble. Hiei was quiet because he knew that he was going to get all the blame, because Yusuke was captain the football team, and Coach Toguro was the coach of the football team. _

_Continuing to glare at the two, Coach Toguro let out a wicked smirk. "Urameshi, get out on the football field, I'm sure the kids playing there will let you join. As for you Jaganshi, 15 laps around the track. Sprinting, no jogging. I'll be watching you, Jaganshi." With that, he walked out the gym door, heading to the football field, no doubt. _

_Yusuke smirked after Coach Toguro left the gym and turned to Hiei. "Have fun running," he sneered, and jogged out the door. Hiei's fists shook with rage. He was so sick of taking crap from Coach Toguro. With that rage burning inside of him, he stalked outside to the track, where he spent the rest of the class sprinting._

Hiei let out a growl and opened his eyes to see Kurama tying his shoe. Getting off the locker, Hiei walked over to him and stood there. Kurama glanced up and chuckled as he knotted the lace of his sneaker and stood up. "You're too impatient."

Hiei rolled his eyes and was about to start heading towards the door when he felt a sharp pain on his rear. "What the hell?!" he exclaimed, jumping forward in pain. He whirled around and saw Yusuke snickering to himself. In his hands was a wet towel.

"Towel snap, Jaganshi. Got a problem?" Yusuke laughed, snapping the towel in his hands. Behind him were a few other members of the football team, all chuckling along with their leader.

"Yeah, I do, Urameshi," Hiei hissed through clenched teeth. His whole body ached to pound the shit out of the obnoxious jock. He took a step forward and was about to punch him when he felt a hand clamp down on his shoulder. In surprise, Hiei turned his head and found that the hand belonged to……..Kurama.

"Don't bother with them, Hiei. They're not worth it," he said, giving Hiei a stern look. Suddenly, Hiei knew what he was doing. Kurama knew Hiei couldn't afford to get in anymore trouble. He was trying to help him. Taking a deep breath, Hiei snatched up his bag and headed for the door, not looking at Yusuke and his gang.

Kurama gave a smile in Hiei's direction and picked up his bag. "Kurama, what's the matter with you? You're one of the most popular guys in the school. Why do you hang out with him?" Hiei froze on the spot at Yusuke's comment and Kurama gave Yusuke an unreadable look. "Life has a way of turning on you," was his only reply. Yusuke and his friends were left speechless as Hiei and Kurama walked out of the locker room without another word.

**------------In the English classroom------------**

Mr. Itsuki paced around in the English classroom with a smile on his face. He was talking to his class about Haiku, the Japanese form of poetry. His favorite thing about teaching English class was when he went over poetry. He continued talking of Haiku and famous Haiku poets and after that, he even recited a few pieces of poetry. Of course, Hiei didn't hear a word of it.

He was staring at his desk as he thought about what had happened in the locker room. He wasn't thinking about Urameshi or the towel snap, no. His mind was focused on one specific detail. One comment kept playing over and over again in his mind. _Kurama, what's the matter with you? You're one of the most popular guys in the school. Why do you hang out with him?_

Hiei had asked himself that same question multiple times in the past. Why did Kurama hang out with him? _Him_? Kurama could hang out with anyone in the school and be accepted, but he chose him. Hiei hadn't really given the subject much thought, but Yusuke's comment brought up a good point. Kurama could hang out with anyone. At anytime he wanted.

Hiei shrugged off the subject, thinking he was just letting Urameshi get to him, but he couldn't help noticing the cold lump that had developed in his stomach. Rubbing his eyes, he finally brought himself back to reality and focused on what Mr. Itsuki was saying.

"Ok class," Mr. Itsuki began. "You are all required to write out one poem in the form of Haiku, and with that you must write a one page summary of what your poem means. This is due Friday."

Hiei groaned with the rest of the class. Maybe he should've just stayed in his thoughts.

**------------In the math classroom------------**

"Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap," Hiei chanted as he stared at his sister's math textbook. There were mere minutes until the math test started and Hiei barely finished reading the first page in chapter 3. 'I'm so screwed,' he reminded himself.

He began skimming through the chapter when a shadow loomed over his desk. He looked up to see Shishi Wakamaru standing in front of his desk. "What do you want, Wakamaru?" he growled, looking back down at his book.

Shishi let out a chuckle and glared down at Hiei. "I heard you gave Urameshi a hard time in gym."

Hiei stopped reading and leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. "Yeah, I tripped the idiot. You have a problem?" He asked, giving a cocky smirk.

"Yeah, I do."

"Then deal with it. I've got better things to do then put up with your shit."

"Like study for the test?" Shishi questioned smoothly, snatching up the textbook before Hiei even had a chance to react. "Hm, I wonder how good you'll do on the test without this math book……."

"Give it back, Wakamaru," Hiei growled, all of his patience gone. He was at his wits end and he was about ready to pommel Shishi if he had to.

"Only if you beg for it," he said with a grin. He dangled the textbook in front of Hiei's face in a taunting way. "I know you can. Come on, grovel for it."

Hiei barred his teeth in annoyance. That was it. Shishi was as good as dead. Hiei leapt to his feet, but before he could do anything, Dr. Ichigaki walked into the classroom.

"Settle down class," he said as he made his way to his desk. The entire class shut up and took their seat. Dr. Ichigaki was the, well, scariest teacher in the school. It was partly because he went nuts when it came to numbers and counting. Then again, that was how he got the job as math teacher in the first place.

Shishi let out a smug grin. "Good luck on the math test…" He dropped the textbook on the desk and walked off to his seat. Hiei closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to fight the urge to pounce on Shishi.

"Alright class, as you all know, you'll be taking that big test on integers, area, and square roots of angles today," Dr. Ichigaki said as he began passing out the test. "I suggest you all put your math notes and textbooks away. Cheating will not be accepted. Keep your test turned upside down until I tell you to start."

Hiei, who was sitting in the back, got his test and glared at Shishi, who sat towards the front. Shishi Wakamaru was also a jock on the football team and happened to be Yusuke Urameshi's best friend. He was what you'd like to call a lady's man. He was right up there with Kurama. Shishi was different then Kurama, though. Instead of avoiding the girls who liked him, he dated all of them. Well, the one's who looked good, at least. He was, after all, shallow.

Dr. Ichigaki finished passing out the tests and took a seat at his desk. "You may begin……..now."

Hiei tore his glare off of Shishi and went to focus on his test. "Let's see, -45 76 is equal to 58 – _x_. _X_ = ?," Hiei mumbled quietly to himself. How the hell was he supposed to do that problem? He decided to skip that problem and move to a simpler question and come back to that later. "Er, how about this one. A circle's radius is 23. If pi equals 3.14, what is the circumference of the circle?" Hiei stared blankly at the paper. He didn't know that one either. Not to worry, he'd just come back to those questions later. He quickly scanned over the paper to find a problem he could do and sweatdropped. He didn't know any of the questions.

'I'm so screwed,' Hiei thought as he hit his head repeatedly on his desk.

**------------In the English classroom (at the same time as Hiei's math class)------------**

"Hey babe."

"Hey."

"How was gym? Anything unusual happen?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary. I talked to Yukina and Hiei got into a fight with Yusuke."

"Again?"

"Yeah, but Coach Toguro made him sprint around the track the rest of class."

"Too bad I missed it."

"Yeah, but you had music class."

"That's true. Hey, uh, does Hiei suspect anything yet?"

"No, nothing."

"How sad, he can't even see that he's being betrayed."

"Yeah, I know."

"The dance on Friday will be great. He won't suspect a thing."

"Indeed. It should be…….amusing…….." **[1]**

**------------In art class------------**

"Ok, what's the thing you hate the most in this class?" Mukuro asked the other people at her table as she sculpted the clay in her hands into a pot. "For me, it's the teacher. Mr. Suzuka is just a tad bit strange. I mean, for every different art project, he mentions rainbows. What about you, Kurama?"

Kurama, who was sketching some trees that were outside the window, looked up at Mukuro's question. "I don't like when I get dumped with paintbrush duty. Whenever I have it, I'm late for lunch. It doesn't help that a bunch of girls stay after class to watch me clean the brushes." He turned to the third person in their party. "What about you, Yukina?"

"I don't know," Yukina said. She put the colored pencil she was coloring with and gave a thoughtful expression. "I just don't like art. It doesn't help that I'm not good at it." She turned and looked at her brother, who had just entered the art room. Late again, probably in trouble with Dr. Ichigaki. "What about you, Hiei?" she asked as he walked over to the table.

"What about me?" Hiei asked as he pulled out his chair and took a seat.

Yukina gave a laugh as she picked up her colored pencil and began coloring again. "What do you hate most about art class?"

Hiei's face went pale and he looked like he had just been slapped in the face. "Glue."

Kurama, Mukuro, and Yukina all stopped what they were doing at Hiei's answer. They all stared at him and sweatdropped. "………….Er, why glue, Hiei?" Mukuro asked hesitantly, one eyebrow quirked in confusion at her boyfriend's sudden apparent insanity.

Hiei's mouth went into a tight thin line and his eyes blinked in shock. "Because………" he began, gritting the word out from behind clenched teeth. "I just sat in some."

"Alright, we got him, Zeru!" Roto called out in triumph from the other side of the classroom. He gave his horrible he-hawing laughter and he pointed at Hiei as he got up from his chair. His beady little yellow eyes glinted in corrupted mirth as he made his way over to his best friend, Zeru. The two slapped high fives and Zeru smirked at Hiei as he pushed a strand of blonde hair out of his face. The two sat back down in their seats and kept working on their projects, randomly laughing every now and then at what they had succeeded in doing.

Hiei glowered at the two. Zeru Hibana and Roto Yusuri were best friends and the school pranksters. They weren't on the football team, but they did hang out with quite a few people who were. That must have been where their love for playing pranks on Hiei had started. Of course, they were so good at pranks they hardly ever got caught. During this whole situation, Mr. Suzuka, the art teacher, was busy reading a magazine. Some teacher……… **[2]**

Slamming his fist into the table, Hiei was about ready to scream some profanities at them, but his sister stopped him. "Hey Hiei, don't worry about it. You have an extra pair of pants in your locker, don't you?" Yukina asked, seeing her brother's rage reach its peek. Hiei blinked at her. She was right. He _did_ have a change of pants in his locker. Alright, he'd just change and everything would be ok.

"Yeah, I'll come with you to your locker. You know, watch your back," Kurama added, rising from his seat.

"Yeah, fine," Hiei said, starting to rise from his chair. He froze, though, when he found he _couldn't_ rise from his chair. He was stuck. "Shit……."

Kurama raised an eyebrow at Hiei. "Hiei, to get to your locker, you have to stand up and walk there." He walked over to Hiei and looked at his friend closely, then realized what the problem was. "Oh…….Uh oh."

"What do you mean, uh oh?" Mukuro asked, peering over at Hiei and Kurama in curiosity. She looked at her boyfriend's expression and suddenly knew what was going on. "Oh gee……." she commented, raising a hand to her mouth. She would have laughed if it wasn't for the seriousness of the situation.

Yukina sweatdropped. "Don't worry, Hiei. We'll think of something."

Hiei slapped a hand to his forehead. "This day just keeps getting _better and better_."

**------------In the cafeteria (lunchtime)------------**

Hiei sat at his table in the lunchroom quietly, poking the pizza on his plate. He was still a little distraught at what had happened during art.

_Somehow, Kurama and he had shifted to the door unnoticed by anyone. They had run as best they could down the hallway to his locker, where he had grabbed his black pants. As they had started for the boys bathroom, Mr. Sensui, the principal, walked by the two of them. When he saw them, he had stopped and stared. Like deer caught in headlights, the two stood there staring right back at him, not knowing what else to do. Whether or not Mr. Sensui found it strange that Hiei was standing in the middle of the hallway with a chair stuck to his ass, accompanied by Kurama, he didn't say. For after a few more minutes, he turned on his heel and walked away. _

_Both Kurama and Hiei sighed in relief and were about to head into the boys bathroom when Mr. Sensui's voice rang after them. "Mr. Jaganshi, I suggest next time you want to try out a new fashion statement, you resist the urge to use school property." This caused Hiei to go bright red and Kurama to start laughing uncontrollably. By the time Hiei had finished changing, it was time for lunch. _**[3]**

Hiei let out a sigh as he glared down at his pizza. He just didn't get a break. He looked up to see Kurama and Mukuro with him, eating their lunch and conversing with each other. He had slipped out of the conversation when the two began to talk about the math test. They hadn't taken it yet, and they were discussing some how difficult they thought it would be. They had tried asking Hiei, but he had just moaned and hit his head on the table when they tried.

In his boredom, Hiei's gaze floated around the lunchroom as he tried to find where his sister was sitting. He found her at a small table with her best friend, Shizuru Kuwabara. The two girls were laughing with each other about something.

Shizuru Kuwabara and Yukina had been friends for a long time. Mostly because neither were cheerleaders and since both were extremely different from the rest of the girls in the school. Shizuru was actually pretty cool in Hiei's opinion. She didn't take crap from anyone, and quite a few guys liked her. Of course, she shook a fist at any of them who came near her. It was just the way she was. Hiei could vaguely remember if she had a brother or not, but something told him she did.

Hiei sighed again and pushed his plate away from him. He just wasn't hungry. He looked at the clock. Fifteen more minutes of lunch and then he'd have to go to his next class. He groaned loudly. He just wanted school to end.

**------------In the science classroom------------**

Mr. Yomi was waving his hands around vividly as he talked about the anatomy of frogs. Half the class was a little green, having just eaten lunch, so when Mr. Yomi put up a poster of the innards of a frog, one of the guys in the front row spewed.

Hiei chuckled to himself as he watched the poor sap who couldn't take listening to anatomy. Hiei never really minded. In fact, he was probably one of the few kids in the class who hadn't gagged at least once. As Mr. Yomi gave the sick student a nurse's pass and started talking about frogs again, Hiei got bored and began doodling in his notebook.

Giving a dull glare, he drew a little chibi Yusuke Urameshi decked out in his football uniform. Above him he drew a giant weight suspended in midair by a thin rope. With an amused smirk, he quickly drew himself as a chibi next to the rope, wielding a pair of scissors. He bit his bottom lip and suppressed a chuckle. No longer bored, he closed his notebook and looked up at Mr. Yomi, finally paying attention.

"Now that you know all about the insides of frogs, we're going to take a first hand look," Mr. Yomi said with amusement in his voice. A few kids in the class who weren't trying not to puke raised an eyebrow at their teacher. Going under his desk, Mr. Yomi brought up a container full of live frogs and placed them on his desk. "We're going to dissect frogs!"

Any kids in the class who were on the verge of throwing up did so. As for all the kids who were unaffected by the talk of anatomy, well, they began turning many vibrant shades of green. All of the kids except for Hiei, of course.

Hiei let out an evil smirk. He'd get to mutilate something? Perfect. He needed something to take his anger out on.

**------------In the classroom for study hall------------**

Sighing, Hiei stopped walking and stared at the closed door of his study hall classroom. He didn't want to go in. Study hall was the only class in the entire school that didn't have a teacher. The school figured that the students were responsible enough to spend their time in study hall constructively. Boy, did anyone ever tell the Board of Education how stupid they were? Study hall was spent talking, fighting, and doing anything but being constructive. Hiei had to hand it to the school, though. They did try…………

Hiei opened the classroom door and stepped inside. No one noticed him; they were too busy in their own activities to do so. He quickly scanned the room, trying to find Kurama and Mukuro. He saw Urameshi, Keiko, and a few others from their gang sitting at one table. At another table near them sat Zeru and Roto. Well, he was going to avoid that side of the room.

His eyes continued to search until he spotted an empty table. Upon closer inspection, he realized that it was empty and that someone, in fact, was sitting there. It was Jin Kaze. Hiei didn't know much about Jin Kaze. All he did know was that he was a loner, he was usually serene, and he didn't talk much to anyone at all. In fact, Hiei had never heard Jin talk once in all the years they went to school together. Hiei shrugged. Oh well, not that he cared. **[4]**

He kept looking around until he spotted Kurama and Mukuro conversing at a table alone. As he started walking to them, a voice stopped him. "Hey Jaganshi, you changed your pants! What happened, did you wet yourself?!" Yusuke howled from the other side of the room, causing everyone in the classroom to turn and look at him. Zeru and Roto began cackling loudly from their table. Apparently they had told Yusuke the whole glue incident.

Hiei turned his dull stare at Yusuke, who was snickering softly. The second his eyes fell on Yusuke, he faked a surprise expression and said, "Urameshi, why aren't you skipping class? What happened? Did the football team run out of steroids?" A few people in the room gasped at Hiei's comeback. No one, and I mean, no one, had the guts to insult Yusuke Urameshi, captain of the football team. Yusuke opened his mouth to say something, but no sound came out. He was in too much shock to respond.

With an arrogant smirk, Hiei walked over to his friend's table and plopped down into his chair, but not before checking it for any glue. "Hey guys," he said as he pulled his notebook out of his bag, planning on doodling some more.

"Damn Hiei, that took balls. You know, Yusuke is gonna come after you for that," Kurama said, staring at his friend in mild shock. He chuckled slightly and shook his head. Leave it to Hiei to make a scene. Kurama was used to his friend's actions by now, though. In fact, he found them quite amusing.

Giving a cocky smirk, Hiei let out a laugh. "Yeah, but I'll be ready for him."

Mukuro started laughing hysterically. "Hiei, that was great!" she gasped between bouts of laughter. "Did you see the look on his face?! I wish I had a camera! That was priceless!" With a sigh, she wiped a tear from her eye.

Kurama watched his two companions with interest, when an idea came to his mind. "Hey Hiei, are you going to the dance?" he asked slyly. This was payback for Hiei's joking this morning.

Hiei looked up at Kurama in shock. He looked nervously from him to Mukuro. How was he gonna get out of this one? "I…….well……I……um……." He took one look at Mukuro's death glare and sighed loudly in defeat. "Yeah……"

Mukuro gave a happy smile. Leaning over the table, she quickly gave Hiei a peck on the check. After seeing him turn away quickly and blush, she went back to writing in her notebook. Kurama chuckled to himself and went back to reading another one of those thick novels he loved so much. Hiei glowered at him. He and Kurama were always doing that to each other, trying to put the other in an embarrassing situation. They had both succeeded today, but Hiei wasn't worried. He'd get Kurama back tomorrow.

With a smirk, he started doodling and paused when realization dawned on him. He still had to go to the damn dance on Friday. 'Kurama will pay,' Hiei thought exasperatedly as he began to draw a little chibi Kurama with a weight over his head………

**------------In the geography classroom------------**

"Even though the Amazon River holds the most water in the world, the Nile is the longest river in the world. Now, who can tell me where the Nile River is located?" asked Ms. Genkai, her old eyes scanning the classroom like a hawk.

Hiei laid his head on his arms and tried to ignore Ms. Genkai's voice. Geography class was so boring. Even the teacher, Ms. Genkai, didn't like teaching it. That might have been why she was so cranky all the time.

Feeling his eyelids drooping, Hiei tried to stay attentive at the constant rambling that droned out of the teacher's mouth. Try as he might, he couldn't fight off the boredom that was overtaking him. His eyelids closed again and he felt the gentle ebb of sleep at the tip of his mind. He couldn't fall asleep, he was in the middle of class…………but he was so bored……and so tired……….just a few minutes of sleep was all he needed. Yeah, that was it. Just a few minutes…………

"DIMWIT!"

Hiei's head snapped up as a voiced blared in his ear. He turned and found himself face to face with Ms. Genkai, who was glaring at him like there was no tomorrow. All of the sudden, Hiei realized that the entire classroom was eerily quiet. He blinked at his teacher and gave a weak laugh. Maybe falling asleep in class wasn't such a good idea.

"I'm sorry Mr. Jaganshi, was I boring you?!" Ms. Genkai asked angrily. Hiei didn't say anything, just glared at the teacher. "Because, if I was, you can always nap in the principal's office! Next time, don't fall asleep in my class, slacker!" Ms. Genkai turned away from Hiei and walked back to the front of the classroom. "Now, can anyone else besides Mr. Jaganshi tell me what the capitol of Syria is?" A bunch of kids in the class snickered at the question.

Hiei glowered at Ms. Genkai's turned back and his hands twitched in aggravation. If he could have just five minutes to strangle the old hag…………….

**------------In the music classroom------------**

Hiei sat in his chair in the music classroom. Music was his last class of the day, but Hiei didn't mind it at all. In fact, this class was the only thing that got him through the day. He lived for this class, and he had his reasons to.

For one thing, this wasn't any normal music class. Instead of learning about Bach and Mozart, the students learned about current artists. Instruments lined the walls of the classroom, but it was rare that anyone would ever play them. Even if they could, they weren't aloud. It was the principal's rules.

Ok, so maybe that wasn't the reason Hiei enjoyed the class. No, it was the teacher that made him look forward to music. He was the coolest. Before he had become a music teacher, he had played in a band, a real punk rock band. He told his students stories of his days as a rocker and occasionally, he even played a recorded tape of his old music. Quite frankly, in Hiei's opinion, he was the most kick ass teacher in the world.

"Hey, alright guys, I'm here now, so act like you were behaving well. You don't want me getting in trouble with the principal, do ya?" the music teacher asked as he entered the room. A good amount of the students in the classroom laughed at this. "Yeah, yeah, very funny, I know. Now settle down, I got something special to show ya all."

This peeked the class's interest. Everyone went to their seats as the teacher went to the front of the room. He bent down and began fumbling with something under a sheet. Looking up briefly, he spied Hiei staring blankly at him from his seat. He grinned widely and straightened himself out. "Hiei, my man, how ya doing?" The teacher walked over to Hiei and put out his hand.

Hiei rolled his eyes at his teacher's antics. The two of them went through this routine everyday, but it never grew old. "Just fine, Chu, just fine," he smirked, slapping his teacher high five. That was the cool thing about Chu. He hated all the Mr. crap and insisted that you call him by just his first name, no Mr. added. He was the only teacher you could slap high five and not get made fun of for it. **[5]**

"You been practicing that air guitar of yours?" Chu asked, raising a thick eyebrow in question.

"Like I wouldn't," Hiei chuckled, tapping a finger to his nose

Chu ran a hand over his stubble in thought. "Yeah I suppose that's true. You've been playing that thing since the first day we met……….." Suddenly he started cracking up. Loudly.

"Eh, Chu," Hiei said, dropping his voice so the rest of the class wouldn't hear him. "I think you've got a class to teach."

Chu's loud rich laughter halted in an instant and his face became serious. "Right. Ok, class, like I said, I got something special to show ya, so show ya I will." He walked back to the front of the classroom and went back to playing with the sheet. With a quick flap, he tore the sheet off, revealing…………an air guitar.

It was pretty nice looking in Hiei's opinion, and even some of the less musically experienced students gasped in awe. Chu ran his fingers over the strings, playing a few notes in the process. The guitar was in perfect tune. "She's a beaut, ain't she…?"

Some student spoke up from the back of the class. "Hey, uh, Chu? I thought we weren't aloud to play the school's instruments."

Chu's head snapped up so quickly that his purple ponytails whipped around his head wickedly. He looked livid. "What do ya mean, 'the school's instrument'?! This one here is mine!" He saw a few of the students raise their eyebrows in question. "Yep, bought it myself. This is one of the guitars that Metallica used to play on. They got new ones, and their old ones went up for sale, so I bought this baby here."

Hiei nearly chocked. "That's an actual guitar from _Metallica_?!"

Chu gave a proud beam. "Yep. The genuine article." That got the class's attention. The rest of the class was spent by talking about air guitar's and Metallica. Before anyone knew it, the class was over. Pretty soon, nobody was left in the class except for Hiei and Chu.

Slinging his backpack over his shoulder, Hiei was about to head for the door when he felt a large hand clamp onto his shoulder. He turned around and looked up at Chu. "What's the deal?" he asked, eyeing his teacher oddly.

Letting a chuckle slip at Hiei's questioning attitude, Chu gave Hiei a grin. "Listen, Hiei, about the air guitar. Ya can play it anytime ya want."

Hiei's eyes sprang open. "Really?!" he asked, his mouth gapping slightly in shock.

"Yeah, even during class if you want. You know, pick up a few lady friends…….." Chu laughed, wiggling his eyebrows, hoping Hiei would get the hint.

Hiei stared bluntly at Chu. "Chu, I have a girlfriend."

"Yeah, I know, but those famous rock stars always have more then one girl." With that, Chu turned around and began fiddling around with his guitar again. Hiei felt himself go hot, but he fought back a blush. Shaking his head, Hiei turned around and headed out the door.

Walking down the crowded hallway, he smirked to himself. Another reason Chu was the most kick ass teacher ever. Hiei was his favorite student.

**------------Outside Surota High (after school)------------**

Kurama and Mukuro were sitting outside on the stone steps that led to the front doors of Surota High. The bell had rang a good 15 minutes ago, and the two were still waiting out there for Hiei and Yukina. Usually, Hiei was expected to be late, but it was unlike Yukina to be tardy.

Letting out a frustrated sigh, Mukuro stood up and paced back and forth in front of the steps. She gazed around at the school grounds, watching as groups of people met up with each other and headed home. Some were walking home by themselves, others in small groups. Others were also taking the bus, so that explained the large crowd of people waiting by the bus stop. Of course, there were also plenty of kids still hanging around the school, because they didn't have anything better to do.

Kurama, who had been watching Mukuro pace around, began fidgeting with his hands in boredom. He, Mukuro, Hiei and Yukina always walked home together everyday. The group usually had to wait for one person or another, and you would think Kurama would be used to waiting, but he wasn't.

Exchanging glances with Mukuro, Kurama was just about to scream when suddenly the front doors of the school swung open and out stepped Yukina. Just Yukina. Mukuro threw a warm smile at the Koorime girl and stopped pacing. "Hey Yukina, what took you so long?"

Yukina gave a weary smile at her brother's girlfriend. "Well, I was with Hiei. He was at his locker, cleaning it out. He was taking forever, though, so I told him I was gonna find you guys and start walking home. He said that was fine," she explained quickly as she walked down the steps and stood next to Kurama.

Mukuro shrugged. "Alright, if Hiei said we could go without him, then let's go. I've got a ton of homework to do anyway," she said, grabbing her backpack from the steps and walking towards the sidewalk. With a yawn, Kurama stood up and started following after her, accompanied by Yukina. And together the three began walking home.

**------------In the hallway (with Hiei)------------**

"Trash. Trash……….more trash," Hiei grumbled as he quickly threw things out of his locker and into the trash can. "Garbage. Junk. Don't need this. Too late to hand in that. Need to keep this. Don't want this. Throw this out and……..done!" He triumphantly tossed the last piece of garbage into the trash can and shut his locker with a loud slam. Picking up his backpack, he dusted himself off and headed for the doors.

He frowned to himself when he remembered his friends wouldn't be out there waiting for him. He had told his sister to head off without him. He knew it would take forever to clean out his locker, and it did. With a sigh, he pushed open the doors and stepped out into the outside air.

Hiei had made it off of the school grounds and halfway down a street when he felt he was being watched. Tilting his head slightly, he peered behind him, but didn't see anyone. He shook it off and decided it was just paranoia. As he continued walking, he felt that familiar feeling of being watched again. Another glance proved he was alone, though.

Hesitantly, Hiei turned back around and started walking again. He knew someone was watching him that time. It wasn't paranoia; he had definitely felt someone else's presence. As he walked, his entire body tensed up and all his senses tuned in to try and pick up another feeling of that person watching him. Then it happened. Hiei felt it again. The slight tingling sensation you get when somebody's eyes are burning a hole in your back.

With a snarl, Hiei wheeled around and threw his backpack to the ground. "I know you're following me, you bastard! Whoever you are, come out!" His eyes flew around wildly as he tried to spot a sigh that would tell him where his stocker was. Suddenly, he heard a low chuckle emitting from some tall bushes.

"Hiei Jaganshi," a voice all but growled as a well-built figure stepped out of the bushes. "Your skills are getting sharper."

Hiei glared at the figure. "Too bad I can't say the same for you. You do a terrible job at keeping yourself hidden. I sensed you a few streets back."

The figure chuckled dangerously to himself. Running a hand through his white hair, he let out a dark smirk. "Then you knew a while ago that I was going to beat you within an inch of your life."

"I'd like to see you try," Hiei smirked, his ego overriding his better judgment and common sense. His common sense screamed get the hell out of their. Of course, his ego screamed even louder, give this guy what's coming to him.

Bui Yoroi was what you'd call the bully of the school. He walked the halls of school alone, and he liked it that way. He was strong. He was tough. He didn't take crap from anybody, and the reason he was a bully wasn't because of some family problems or crap like that. He was just like that. A good amount of the student body and even a few teachers feared him. He usually didn't bother with anybody, but Hiei was an exception. The two had a mutual understanding of each other when they fought. Yes, they fought often.**[6]**

Bui cracked his knuckles and frowned deeply. "Gladly, you _little_ punk," Bui hissed, drawing out the word little. He hit a cord with that, though. Hiei growled and clenched his fists, anger surging through his body. He didn't like it when people brought up his height.

The two had a glare down, neither moving a muscle, both waiting for the other to attack first. A breeze blew by, ruffling both boy's hair and clothes. Without a word, both lunged at the other at the same time, signaling the start of the fight.

**------------The Jaganshi household (with Yukina)------------**

Yukina flipped though her English journal, trying to think up a poem for the English assignment due on Friday. Sitting in the living room, she was working on her homework. She rubbed her tired eyes and tried to focus on her paper, but to no avail. She was too worried. She gave a concerned glance at the clock and let out a sigh. It had been three hours since she had left Hiei, and he still wasn't home.

She was about to call up Kurama and ask if Hiei was over there, when the front door opened. In walked her brother, his shirt was slightly torn and he was making a beeline for his bedroom. Yukina wasn't going to question him and she would have probably ignored him if she hadn't gotten a look at his face. "Oh my god, Hiei! What happened to you?!" she asked, practically flying up from her spot on the floor and running over to her brother. With a determined look, she began inspecting the black eye which Hiei had gotten. He didn't answer her question, so she decided to ask it again. "What happened?"

Hiei winced when his sister poked his bruise. "I was making out with Keiko. Yusuke caught us and a fight broke out," he replied in monotone.

Yukina glared at her brother. "You got in another fight with Bui, didn't you?

"Gee, nothing gets past you," Hiei commented sarcastically, heading for his bedroom.

"Hiei, you've got to stop getting into fights! You're going to get into trouble!" Yukina scolded her brother as he walked away.

"Hn," he called over his shoulder as he went up the stairs. Walking into his room, Hiei dumped his backpack into some random corner of his bedroom and headed over to his guitar. Plugging it into the amp, he pulled the strap over his shoulder and tuned the strings quickly. Then he started to play.

His accomplished fingers raced over the strings as he played a loud tune. It wasn't any well known song. He was making up off the top his head, but he had to admit, it sounded good. His fingers continued to fly as his mind floated off with the guitar's melody, and soon he found himself getting lost in the melancholy tune. He played faster and faster, taking out all his stress from the day and putting it into music. The amp blared with the eerie, dark tune, as the sound filled every inch of his room, and no doubt, his entire home. He didn't know how long he played, but it must have been a while, because pretty soon, Yukina came storming in with a scowl and started screaming at him.

He couldn't hear her, though. With a chuckle, he ignored her and continued playing louder this time. Frustrated, Yukina did the only thing she could think of. She pulled the guitar's plug from the amp. With a low buzzing sound, the air guitar's haunting melody died down until it eventually died off, leaving the room in a stifling silence.

Hiei glared angrily at his sister. He put up with a lot of things from her, but he wasn't in the mood with her messing with his guitar. Making his anger apparent, he snapped, "What the hell do you want?!"

Yukina's scowl faltered, but only for an instant. She composed herself and faced her brother. "We have new neighbors."

Hiei stared at his sister like she had sprouted an extra head. "_That's_ why you interrupted me? New neighbors? Go away; I have more important things to do."

Yukina's scowl deepened. "Like make noise?" She quickly shut her mouth when her brother shot her a glare that could kill. "Anyway, I think whoever is moving in lives alone like us. I'm going over to welcome them, you want to come?"

Hiei snorted. "No."

"Fine," Yukina sighed, playing with her bangs. "I'm going over now. I don't know when I'll be back. You can feed yourself, right?" Hiei didn't say anything and she took that as a sign that he could. "Ok, bye."

Yukina exited the room, leaving Hiei alone. He waited until he heard the front door slam, and then he started playing his guitar again. He played for a few hours, and when he stopped, he looked outside his window. He didn't know what time it was, but he was guessing it was late, since it was pitch black outside. He figured Yukina was back already, as he put his guitar away.

He wasn't hungry and decided to go to sleep. He was tired and deserved some rest. Besides, he didn't have any homework that was due tomorrow, so he was covered with schoolwork. Taking a quick shower, Hiei changed into black boxers and a tank top and flopped onto his bed. Setting his alarm clock and turning off his light, he rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling. "Whoo hoo," he droned dully, starting to doze off. "I survived another day…………"

**)()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()(**

BOTAN IS IN THE NEXT CHAPTER! I know you're all waiting patiently (or impatiently) for Botan to pop up and I'm happy to tell you she's entering in the next chapter. Aren't you excited? I know I am.

Ok, I'm telling everyone right now, I adore every character in YYH, so don't get the wrong impression from me when I make them sound like an ass. It's just the way the stroy goes and has nothing to do with personal grudges against the characters.

Hey, you know, I'm sorry for not updating for a long time.........Eh, heh, heh, heh, but see, I make up for it in big ass chapters. 17 pages, W00T!............--;

**A/N:**

**[1]**- Shame on you if you don't know who these two people are. Hell, there are even two clues during the beginning of this chapter.  
**  
[2]**- Roto and Zeru were both on the first team that team Urameshi fought in the Dark Tournament. I'm sure you all know this, but I'm telling you anyway just in case. Both weren't given last names, so I looked up some names for them.  
Japanese Name Translations:  
Hibana- spark  
Yusuri- blackmail

**[3]**- None of you will ever know how much I was laughing while writing that flashback. Heh, heh, heh.

**[4]**- Jin plays an extremely important part in this story. You'll learn what it is later on in this story.  
Japanese Name Translations:  
Kaze- wind

**[5]**- Bet you didn't see that one coming, huh? Yeah, it's Chu. I couldn't resist. I love the guy and he's hardly ever mentioned in fanfics, so I made him Hiei's favorite teacher. That ensure's he will get mentioned plenty of times. Read through his part so far and tell me if I nailed his attitude, though.

**[6]**- Yes, it's Bui! I know, how......different? Like Jin, he plays an equally important role, which you will learn of later.  
Japanese Name Translations:  
Yoroi- armor

P.S. For any made up last names, I looked them up in my Japanese dictionary (I own one. Strange, I know.) and made sure they had something to do with the character.

Alright guys, that's all I've got. I'm sure you're thrilled this is over. Between the extremely long chapter and ridiculus foot long author notes, you probably want to shoot yourself. But don't! I need you, or else no one will be able to read my story. Drop a review if you wish, but know that they will be greatly appriciated and accepted. (HINT) Till next time guys.


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